Guide to the Baldwin & Howell Records

Collection processed and finding aid created by Conor Casey, San Francisco, CA

San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

100 Larkin Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

Telephone: (415) 557-4567

Facsimile: (415) 437-4849

Email: info@sfpl.org

2007

Title: Baldwin & Howell Records,

Date: 1891-1974

Date (bulk): (bulk 1891-1940)

Collection Identifier: SFH 17

Creator:
Baldwin & Howell

Extent:
7 cubic ft.
(7 boxes),
1 map folder

Contributing Institution:
San Francisco Public Library,
San Francisco History Center.

100 Larkin Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

(415) 557-4567

info@sfpl.org

Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite

Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.

Abstract: This collection documents the business dealings of Baldwin & Howell--a firm which specialized in realty, insurance, property
management, leasing, loans, insurance, and appraisal. The records in the collection span the years between 1891 to 1974,
but the bulk of the collection contains material from the 1890s to the 1940s. These records provide insight into the residential
housing developments of which the Baldwin & Howell Company was a part, documenting the origins of many contemporary San Francisco,
Bay Area, and Northern California neighborhoods.

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has been assigned to the San Francisco Public Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public
Library as the owner of the physical items and the copyright.

The Baldwin and Howell Records--amassed as part of the personal collection of Elfreda Menzel--were acquired at auction from
PBA Galleries, San Francisco, in August of 2005.

Processing History

The collection had undergone some preliminary preservation when it was purchased by the San Francisco History Center: some
documents and photographs were sleeved in polyester envelopes. San Francisco History Center staff interleaved the pages of
the photo albums with acid free paper and put them in archival boxes. Conor Casey processed the collection in the spring of
2007. During the processing, items
that had been individually foldered were consolidated with like items
to reduce bulk, most metal fasteners were removed, some photographs were sleeved in
PAT-passed polypropylene sleeves, and the collection was housed in archival-quality containers. In addition, some oversized
materials and photographs were removed to appropriate storage. Finally, some materials that were obvious inclusions to the
fonds from Elfreda Menzel were removed from the collection.

History of the Firm of Baldwin & Howell

The real estate firm of Archibald S. Baldwin (1858-1924) and Josiah R. Howell (1868-1916) was one of the most important residential
development companies in San Francisco and the Bay Area between 1890 and 1940. Baldwin & Howell was instrumental in the development
of such San Francisco neighborhoods as Westwood Park, Forest Hills, Presidio Terrace, Balboa Park, the Richmond / Sunset,
Forest Hill, West Portal, and St. Francis Wood. The company was particularly active in the development of the western portions
of San Francisco during the first quarter of the 20th century.

The firm's reach extended beyond San Francisco: it spearheaded residential developments on the San Francisco Peninsula in
San Mateo and Burlingame. The company's efforts extended to other areas of Northern California as well: It developed properties
in the cities of Richmond, Clear Lake, and Sacramento.

The company that became Baldwin & Howell was founded in 1885 as the firm of McAfee & Baldwin. For a brief time around 1893,
the firm was called McAfee, Baldwin, & Hammond. When Josiah Howell associated with the firm in 1897, the company incorporated
and changed its name to Baldwin & Howell. In 1905, Howell became the first President of the San Francisco Real Estate Board.
After the 1906 Earthquake, the company was one of the first to move to agressively rebuild San Francisco's decimated downtown
area during the reconstruction era of 1907-1910. Throughout its history, the firm used a series of subsidiary companies to
develop different housing tracts. Notably, under the name of the San Francisco Residential Housing Company, the company developed
the neighborhoods of Westwood Park, Westwood Highlands, Monterey Heights, Mission Terrace, Geneva Terrace, and originated
St. Francis Woods.

In 1910, Baldwin & Howell affiliated with Speck, Paschel & Company, thereby gaining Philip P. Paschel, who would become the
firm's president after Baldwin's death in 1924. Also in 1910, longtime company vice-president Samuel Isralsky joined the firm.
Josiah Howell died in 1916.

In 1937, Walter P. Laufenburg--who had been working for the firm since 1900--became the company's president. Laufenburg was
also president of the San Francisco Real Estate Board. By 1955, the company's president and owner was George H. Thomas, Jr..
The company remained in business as a brokerage firm until 1999, when it was no longer listed in the San Francisco Phone Book.
In that year, The Northern California Business Directory listed the firm at a Sacramento Street address, with less than five
employees, and owned and managed by CEO Eugene Gillis. By 2000-2001, Baldwin & Howell was no longer listed in the directory,
but the Office of the County Clerk listed Eugene Gillis as the firm's owner from a Pacific Avenue address as late as November
2003.

Series Description

Series I: Office Files 1891-1968 is comprised of Baldwin & Howell's office files and contains company histories, minutes of
board of director meetings, financial ledgers and business correspondence, stock certificates, and other information related
to the firm's overall business dealings. This series is divided into subseries by company functions, area of activity, and
thereafter chronologically: Subseries A: General Office Files; Subseries B: Financial Records; and Subseries C: Legal Records.

Series II: Project Files, 1894-1974 is comprised of financial ledgers, correspondence, and other materials relating to distinct
development projects in which Baldwin & Howell was involved. These range from the purchase and appraisal of single buildings
to the construction and sale of entire housing tracts. This series is broken into subseries and arranged by size of property,
geographical proximity to San Francisco, and thereafter chronologically: Subseries A: Buildings (San Francisco); Subseries
B: Blocks (San Francisco); Subseries C: Developments (San Francisco); Subseries D: Developments (Peninsula); and Subseries
E: Developments (Northern California).

Series III: Photographs, ca. 1905-1974 (Bulk 1910s-1920s) is comprised of photographs of various properties and residential
developments with which Baldwin & Howell were involved. They document the construction and final states of various residences
throughout San Francisco and Northern California. This series is broken into subseries and arranged by size of property,
geographical proximity to San Francisco, and thereafter chronologically and is comprised of: Subseries A: Company History
Photographs; Subseries B: Buildings (San Francisco); and Subseries C: Residential Developments.

Photographs are housed with the San Francisco Historical Photo Collection; see separate hours for viewing (See note in "Access"
section above).

Series IV: Maps, Building Plans, and Oversize Ephemera ca. 1910-1948, is made up of various maps of housing developments
and properties that Baldwin & Howell owned or had business dealings regarding. In addition, this series contains the plan
for the Insurance Exchange Building, on California Street at Liedesdorff. Another segment contains two Oversize ephemera items:
a Baldwin & Howell poster parodying municipally owned railroads and George Thomas, Jr.'s certificate of election to the Governing
Council of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers. This series is sub-divided by format into Subseries A: Maps;
Subseries B: Building Plans; and Subseries C: Oversize Ephemera and arranged chronologically within these units.

Arrangement

The material has been arranged into four series: Series I: Office Files, 1891-1968; Series II: Project Files, 1894-1974;
Series III: Photographs, ca. 1905-1974; and Series IV: Maps and Building Plans, ca. 1910-ca. 1933. Series are subdivided
by company activity, document format, or geographical scope.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Baldwin, Archibald S., 1858-1924.

Howell, Josiah R., 1868-1916.

Land use--California--San Francisco Bay Area--History.

Real estate development--California--San Francisco--History.

Cities and towns--California--San Francisco County--History.

Cities and towns--California--San Mateo County--History.

Cities and towns--California--Contra Costa County--History.

Real estate business--California.

Suburbs--California--San Francisco Bay Area.

Land subdivision--California--History.

Baldwin & Howell

Residential Development Company of San Francisco

Cluett Building (San Francisco, Calif.)

Davis-Schonwasser Building (San Francisco, Calif.)

MacDonough Building (San Francisco, Calif.)

Russ Building (San Francisco, Calif.)

Sloane Building (San Francisco, Calif.)

San Mateo Improvement Company

Bibliography

Additional information about Baldwind & Howell's role in real estate development in Northern California may be found in the
following resources:

Western Neighborhoods History Project.
Western Neighborhoods History Project.
http://www.outsidelands.org/
Accessed April 16, 2007.

Zompolis, Gregory N.,
San Mateo.
Charleston, SC:
Arcadia,
c2004.

Container List

Series I.
Office Files, 1891-1968

Physical Description:
1 cubic ft. plus 5 bound ledgers.

Scope and Content

Series I: Office Files 1891-1968 is comprised of Baldwin & Howell's office files and contains company histories, minutes
of board of director meetings, financial ledgers and business correspondence, stock certificates, and other information related
to the firm's overall business dealings.

Arrangement

This series is divided into subseries by company functions, area of activity, and thereafter chronologically.

Series II: Project Files, 1894-1974 is comprised of financial ledgers, correspondence, and other materials relating to distinct
development projects in which Baldwin & Howell was involved. These range from the purchase and appraisal of single buildings
to the construction and sale of entire housing tracts.

Ledger includes University Extension, University Mound, Visita[c]ion Valley, West End, and "Sunnyvale" (A southeastern San
Francisco neighborhood; possibly in the Sunnyside or Bernal Heights districts).

Subseries D:
Developments (Peninsula)1916-1945

Physical Description:
1 ledger

Ledger 3:13

Appraisal as of December 10, 1916 of 525.4 Acres in
Hillsborough San Mateo County, California Belonging to
Provident Securities Company Appraised by Philip P. Paschel Harry C. Jenkins,
April 20, 1945

Additional Note

Contains a fold-out fabric-backed map of lots.

Subseries E:
Developments (Northern California)1909-1930

Physical Description:
1 ledger

Box/Folder 3:14

Pullman Park?Richmond, California, 1909-1914

Box/Ledger 3:15

Buckingham Park?Clear Lake, California, 1930

Series III:
Photographs, ca. 1905-1974(Bulk 1910s-1920s)

Physical Description:
5 folders, 10 ledgers.

Scope and Content

Series III is comprised of photographs of various properties and residential developments with which Baldwin & Howell were
involved.
They document the construction and final states of various residences throughout San Francisco and Northern California.

Arrangement

This series is broken into subseries and arranged by size of property, geographical proximity to San Francisco, and thereafter
chronologically and is comprised of: Subseries A: Company History Photographs; Subseries B: Buildings (San Francisco); and
Subseries C: Residential Developments.

Album; 47 leaves printed on rectos only, plus 62 original silver photographs (5 of them fold-outs), of the vast real estate
holdings of Adolph Sutro, mostly in San Francisco but a few outside.

Box/Ledger 5:6

Westwood Highlandsundated

Scope and Content Note

94 photographs of residences, some under construction, and the land being cleared.

Box/Ledger 6:2

Westwood Park,undated

Scope and Content Note

With 83 photograph of residences, some under construction.

Box/Ledger 6:3

Westwood Park,undated

Scope and Content Note

With 23 photographs.

Box/Folder 6:4

World's Fair, San Francisco, 1939 Baldwin & Howell model home.1939

Part 2:
Residential Developments (Peninsula)ca. 1909-ca. 1930

Box/Ledger 7:4

Redwood City and Dingee Park, ca.1909

Scope and Content Note

Album; 35 photographs of newly built residences, also the 1909 auction of
building sites conducted by Baldwin & Howell and the train station.

Box/Ledger 7:5

San Mateo, undated

Scope and Content Note

54 photographs of residences, etc., also the train station,
with a map of Hayward Park, Subdivision Three.

Part 3:
Residential Developments (Northern California)undated

Box/Ledger 5:2

Projects:undated

Scope and Content Note

66 small photographs of houses in Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco, with several typed pages describing the different
types, also a blueprint.

Series IV:
Maps, Building Plans, Oversize Ephemera, ca. 1910-1948

Physical Description: 1 folder, 7 maps, 3 oversized items.

Scope and Content

Series IV is made up of various maps of housing developments and properties that Baldwin & Howell owned or had business dealings
regarding. In addition, this series contains the plan for the Insurance Exchange Building, on California Street at Liedesdorff.
Another segment contains two Oversize ephemera items: a Baldwin & Howell poster parodying municipally owned railroads and
George Thomas, Jr.'s certificate of election to the Governing Council of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers.

Arrangement

This series is sub-divided by format into Subseries A: Maps; Subseries B: Building Plans; and Subseries C: Oversize Ephemera
and arranged chronologically within these units.

Subseries A:
Mapsca. 1900s-1940s

Physical Description: 1 folder, 7 maps.

Map Folder Drawer 1, Folder 1

Maps and Project Descriptions: Western San Francisco Neighborhoods, 1914,1921

"Map of Forest Tract and San Miguel Ranch Showing Lands Owned by Estate of Adolph Sutro deceased with projected avenues throughout
the same and referred to in the report of A.S. Baldwin May 1910. Map drawn and areas computed by John M. Punnett, Civil Engineer
and Surveyor."
1910

"San Francisco's Water Front: Only 18 percent of San Francisco's Water Front is Now used?82 percent is Still Undeveloped"undated

Additional Note

Shows property owned by the state, property owned by state and improved with modern concrete work, property owned by state
with wooden construction, what can be done by the state to improve the property then owned (primarily constructing piers and
docks), and property then owned by the city.

Annotated with lot buyers and selling price listed, including many prominent San Francisco residents

"Map of City of San Mateo Town of Burlingame and surrounding properties showing also public and private roads compiled by
Davenport Bromfield C.E. 1906. Tracing made in office of W.C. Hammett, April 2nd, 1915."
1906-1915

"Map of the Major Part of the San Francisco Business District compiled and published by Thomas Bros. Compliments of Baldwin
& Howell, Licensed Real Estate Brokers 318-324 Kearney Street Realtors, Insurance, Renting, Leasing, Loans, Insurance, Appraising,
Subdivisions."
undated